Sunday, March 18, 2012

Getting My Crafty Feet Wet

So, it's not so easy to craft with a baby. I know that many of you are probably thinking, "Duh!"

With so many blogs named things like "While She Naps" and "Nap Time Crafts" etc... I kinda thought there would be more time. Maybe if I had a designated space to craft in, it would be easier. Much of my craft energy is sucked up just thinking about the time it would take to set up and clean up. That's when I just say, "Nah" and go on Pinterest instead. The weekends fill up so quickly now too. It really is a whole new world. I knew it would be. I just didn't know in what ways.

Anyway, I have made three things lately that are blog worthy. Probably even worthy of their own posts, but as they say, "Those were the days."

Project 1. Cookies for my niece Ava's first birthday. My sister in law stayed home this year. Awesome opportunity! No paycheck. Womp, womp, womp. So when first birthday time came around I offered to help with the party in lieu of a birthday toy or outfit type gift. The cookies that I made were the party favors.

This was a whole family effort. Cliff watched the baby while I worked pretty much round the clock. Marilee did get in on the action during some of her feedings though. The party colors were pink and purple and timing was perfect to get Easter m&m's for the "cherry" on top.

I had grand packaging ideas courtesy of Pinterest. In the end, I stapled the bags shut and hot glued a scalloped cut out over the staples. I mailed out 60 of these babies and only 11 broke in transit. Not too bad. My SIL needed about 40 for her party.

Project #2 My other niece, Elle, also turned one this month. (Both nieces are only a day apart in age!) While I would have loved to do something just as grand for my little Elle, I simply didn't have the time or energy.
I decided to give them something sentimental. The inspiration pin:

Cute right? There are so many changes in the first year that I thought it would be great to capture them in one place. Also, what do you do with all the cute snapshots other than put them in an album? I wanted those little moments to be available for more frequent glances.

Here is my version:

I am not even going to apologize for the photography. It is what it is these days.

I chose a shadow box frame. I used the scalloped punch that I already had and mounted the photos with thick mounting stickers that stand out a bit. Elle's room is pink and white, so I used pink and white scrapbook paper for the background. I had planed to make a flower for one space similar to the star above, but I couldn't vote any of the pictures off of the island. This Auntie loved them all too much.

Sleeping, crying, the little hands. I know I want to remember all these little things!

This project was quick and easy to make. I lifted the pictures from my brother's flicker and facebook accounts. That took the most amount of time. The rest was a breeze.

Project #3 hardly deserves to be called a project. It comes from one of those pre-printed panels and was sewn together in minutes. Although, I would like props for dragging out the ironing board. That thing hasn't seen the light of day this year.

I was super psyched to find this panel because Marilee is going to a birthday party this weekend and I needed something extra for the gift. My colleague volunteered at the LA Zoo for quite a while and was especially involved in the new elephant exhibit. So this is perfect for them.

I had emailed my friend about sizes and such and she told me:
They like primary colors and especially spring green. The baby is thin, so elastic waistbands are a must. They prefer gender neutral stuff and they love animals.

Crazy 8 is my new favorite kids store. I haven't bought Marilee anything from anywhere (except for socks) because we have gotten tons of gifts and hand-me-down motherload from my niece Ava and a few other friends. But, I have gotten a few things for Ava as thank you treats and the prices are fantastic! Also, I like that the clothes look like they are for children. Baby Gap can be hit or miss. Sometimes it's awesome. But I went there once when I was pregnant and everything looked like a shrunken version of Banana Republic. I don't need my babes to look like they are going to a cocktail party after a full day at the office.

It feels good to be back in this space. Summer is just around the corner. We have grand travel plans, but hopefully, I'll get back to crafting too. It really is part of who I am and I miss it! How have all of you been?

Our baby will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. I went on a bit of a crafting binge right before he was born because I knew the crafting would die down dramatically after he was born. I've actually been a little surprised at what I have gotten done...but it takes about 3 times as long as gets broken up by family and baby meal times constantly. We move into our new house in a few weeks, so I'm hoping having by own dedicated craft space will help. I'm super impressed with the things you've been able to get done.

I recently discovered Crazy 8 and I love it too! I do love Gymboree for the most part but their prices have just gotten to be completely ridiculous, so unless I'm shopping a sale with a coupon and Gymbucks, it's out of the question. Crazy 8 has clothes that are just as cute and the prices are more normal, they get marked down frequently, and you can often get coupons. I just wish we had an actual store here instead of doing it all online.

My other favorite place for baby clothes is Carters. So cute and so soft and they don't shrink in the wash!

Crafty Goals 2010

Jane

Look! See! Jane's Out of the Crayon Box!

About Out of the Crayon Box

Welcome! This is my very own show and tell for all the things I do out of the Crayon Box. When I am not with the Crayons or grading their papers, I am most likely making some sort of mess in the name of creativity.

Updated: My Many Colored Crayons- the blog about life in my inner city classroom is on hiatus (to use a Hollywood term) and is unavailable. Rest assured, things are grooving along in the Crayon Box and this year's Crayons are a vibrant mix of pastels, primary colors and of course, some hot colors too.